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CASE STUDY

EQUINIX AM3 DATA CENTRE

EQUINIX AM3 DATA CENTRE

“Digital Gateway to Europe” protected with Sem-Safe from Danfoss Semco

The Equinix AM3 Science Park Amsterdam is the third data centre built in Amsterdam by Equinix, the American provider of global carrier-neutral data centre services. The facility offers valuable data centre and service support to a worldwide business base. Construction of Equinix AM3 started in December 2011 and was completed in the third quarter of 2012. A Danfoss Semco Hydramist high-pressure water mist system has been chosen for the fire protection of the date centre. With no disruption to the building construction process, phase 1 of the installation of the system has been completed. As the data centre gradually expands, the system easily covers more sections.

Building description

The impressive Equinix AM3 measures 107 x 58 x 24 metres. All vital areas in the building are elevated 4.2 metres above ground level. The building has 250 interconnected networks and features a surface area for customers of 6,400 m2 across 2 floors. In total the building has 4 floors, all protected with Hydramist high-pressure water mist.

The excellent collaboration between Equinix, Danfoss Semco, Unica (Danfoss Semco’s Business Partner in the Netherlands) and the relevant authorities for the previous data centre, Equinix AM2, made Danfoss Semco a trustworthy and reliable supplier of fire fighting system for the new Equinix AM3 data centre.

The excellent collaboration between Equinix, Danfoss Semco, Unica (Danfoss Semco’s Business Partner in the Netherlands) and the relevant authorities for the previous data centre, Equinix AM2, made Danfoss Semco a trustworthy and reliable supplier of fire fighting system for the new Equinix AM3 data centre.

The high-pressure water mist system consists of a compact pump unit with 3 high-pressure pumps, 11 pre-action section valve systems (phase 1), and 6 pre-action section valve systems (phase 2). In the initial phase of the project, the Equinix AM3 has been fitted with a total of 826 nozzle heads, tested in accordance with the CEN/TS 14972 and VdS standard for office occupancies (OH1).

Some of the areas in Equinix AM3 are having a ceiling height of up to 8 metres. For protecting these areas, third generation drilled Hydramist high-pressure water mist nozzles have been installed.These innovative nozzles have been tested according to the VdS fire test protocol for OH1 areas with up to an 8-metre ceiling height.

The benefits of SEM-SAFE
The SEM-SAFE water mist system offers optimal fire
protection of all areas in the data centre, simplifying operation and maintenance.
The benefits of the Hydramist high-pressure water mist system are immense.
The fire is put out rapidly, with minimal consumption of water and close to no water
damage to the surrounding equipment and environment.

Being able to keep the data centre operating round the clock is critical.
With SEM-SAFE, the Equinix AM3 data centre can function even during a fire
extinguishing process. Harmless to people,the facility does not need to be sealed
off during the discharge of the water. By using a pre-action system, the reliable
SEM-SAFE water mist nozzles activate locally, only in the areas where a fire has
been detected. Additionally, the design of the Hydramist system is modular, thus
enabling easy system extension to cover more sections as the data centre gradually
expands. The small footprint of the Danfoss Semco pump unit also opens up more
space in the Equinix AM3 centre for installation of computer equipment.

Approvals
The performance of the system has been approved by the recognized classification
and inspection societies R2B InspectiesB.V. / NEN-EN 14972.

Project Manager at Equinix, Kevan Harrison, states
“When looking for fire suppression for our new data centre in Amsterdam, following
extensive market research, the Danfoss Semco SEM-SAFE water mist system was
chosen due to a mixture of good technical engineering systems, the quality of the
installation, and cost.The system and engineers have matched our expectations.”